Bangladesh has made significant progress in controlling PPR, the viral disease of goats and sheep, and FMD in cattle, state minister for fisheries and livestock Sultan Salauddin Tuku has said.

He was speaking at a side event of the global conference on One Health action in agrifood systems, held in Rome.

PPR vaccination of goats and sheep is running across the country under the World Organisation for Animal Health's global strategy and the national strategic plan for 2024 to 2028, he said.

With no outbreak detected by disease surveillance, the dossier for the PPR eradication programme was submitted to the World Organisation for Animal Health in September 2025.

Through this work Bangladesh is committed to achieving PPR-free status for goats and sheep by 2030, the state minister said.

Because animals move across borders, no country can hold these diseases back alone, he said, urging regional cooperation.

Goats and sheep are the main cash asset of poor households in Bangladesh; a single PPR outbreak can wipe out a family's savings for the year.

Source: Samakal